Do you like seafood? If so, you might want to enter the contest to rename the northern snakehead. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

By — Christina BarronBy — Christina BarronJanuary 22, 2014

When you hear “northern snakehead,” you probably don’t say, “Yum!” But Charles County is hoping to change that. The county is sponsoring a contest to rename the Asian fish that invaded the Potomac River about 10 years ago.

“The snakehead has had a lot of bad publicity,” said Ken Robinson, the Charles County commissioner who came up with the contest. “It’s not ‘fishzilla,’ ” the name some have given the big fish that eats most small creatures that cross its path.

Robinson said he heard that the Chilean sea bass, a fish found on many restaurant menus, once had a similar problem. Its original name? The Patagonian toothfish.

Like the sea bass, the snakehead makes a good meal, Robinson said: “It tastes great.”

Names can be submitted until February 6. Judges will pick three finalists; then the public will choose the winner. Finalists will receive dinner at a Charles County restaurant that serves snakehead. The grand prize has not been determined, Robinson said.

The county will send the name to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for consideration.